When it comes to epic storylines, Final Fantasy VII could go toe to toe, and limit break to limit break, with any other title, not only in Square Enix's own, hallowed, series, but in the entire role-playing game genre - which is well know for its love of hitting players with an avalanche of emotions before leaving them in a cloud of sentimentality. Up until now, PSP owners may have had mixed emotions about the episodes in the FF series that have appeared on their handheld. While the remakes of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II were interesting and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions was impressive in a slightly different way, they haven't yet been graced with an equivalent to Final Fantasy VII. All that is about to change, however, with the release of Final Fantasy VII - not a new version of the original but an entire prequel to that chapter, dubbed as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

The game's events begin, very appropriately, seven years before those of FFVII. Despite this, those who remember the original will be instantly familiar with the city of Midgar and, more importantly, the Shinra Company, who have turned the power they possess from extracting the planet's mako energy into the power to rule the world. This time around, rather than trying to bring down Shinra you play as one of the mighty corporation's employees called Zack, who isn't exactly your average perfect-crease-down-the-front-of-your-trousers, clock-punching nine to five'er. He's a 2nd class in Shinra's special forces unit - known as SOLDIER - and while his spiky hair is very reminiscent of that sported by Cloud Strife, the hero of FFVII, his thirst for adventure is perhaps even greater.

Zack is given the opportunity to show his credentials to be moved up to SOLDIER 1st class when he and his mentor, Angeal, who has already reached this greatly revered level, are sent to Wutai to try and get to the bottom of the disappearance of some other members of SOLDIER, who were under the command of another 1st class called Genesis. As is very often the case with Final Fantasy, things turn out to be not quite as they first appeared and, as the plot twists and turns, it is promised that Zack will cross paths with some very famous characters from FFVII, as well as enlighten us further on some of the events that happened in that game. When producing a title that is linked to a previously successful one there is always a risk that the new tale will become simply an addition to its predecessor, rather than a game in its own right. With Crisis Core this seems highly unlikely, however, due to the depth of folklore that Square Enix have at their disposal, thanks to their earlier creative efforts and their usual talents for producing luxuriously detailed cut scenes combined with memorable music.

One difference that will be noticeable to the previous editions of Final Fantasy on the PSP is the revised combat system. Although this generally keeps to the random generation of battles, the speed of combat has now increased, as the new style sits somewhere between the cut and thrust of the old turn-based system and the real-time fracas of action/adventure games. As part of his abilities, Zack has action and magic points at his disposal, as well as the brand new Digital Mid Wave (DMW), which injects an element of luck into your quest by basically looking and acting just like the reels on a slot machine to determine when you level up and when you can unleash your devastating limit break attacks.

With so much on offer in the main story, and the inclusion of numerous side missions that could extend the length of play to well over thirty hours, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII could be the final word in the FF series on the PSP.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is scheduled for release on the PSP in the UK on 20th July 2008 and is already available in the United States.

Previewed by James Hamblin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).